Your Brain and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Part 2

Your Brain and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Part 2

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) by definition is an anxiety disorder that develops in reaction to life threatening circumstances, physical injuries, mental, and emotional distress.

However post traumatic stress by a neurological standpoint is not a disorder, it is a reordering of your neural networks and pathways, and your sensory pathways, so that you can survive in dangerous situations.

This re-ordering is a natural response to your environment whether the trauma was ongoing child abuse, rape, natural disaster, or combat.

So briefly how does this happen? First of all you have to understand that you have two brains. Your prefrontal cortex is your conscious mind, and your sub-cortical is your unconscious mind.

Your unconscious mind is your primitive animal brain that doesn’t think it just reacts to environmental information taken in through your senses. It maintains your breathing, blood pressure, heartbeat and digestion. It works 24 hours a day and holds all your memories. It is dominate, and it’s extremely fast operating at 4 billion actions per second.

Your unconscious mind works as a quantum computer performing based on its programming. Every life experience is a part of that programming and affects all that you do and say. Hence the scripture in Proverbs 23:7 (NKJV), “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he…”  The power of your unconscious mind lies in the memories it stores and how these memories influence the conscious mind.

Your conscious mind does your thinking, holds your personality, and reasoning; it makes decisions and takes actions. This conscious mind is much slower operating at about 2000 actions per second. The power of the conscious mind lies in the fact that it can gather data from the external and internal world, think and make decisions.

God in all His wisdom gave you this part of your mind so that you could pull up the strongholds in the unconscious mind and: “…be transformed by the renewing of your mind…” (Romans 12:2),“…take captive every thought…” (2 Corinthians 10:5), “…whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you (Isaiah 26:3), “…the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace (Romans 8:6).

Both minds are equally powerful. The unconscious mind is driving the conscious mind producing output in speech, and behaviors and is based upon the memories that are in your unconscious mind.

When you re-experience a traumatic event from the past, at quantum speed your unconscious mind moves thoughts into your conscious mind. Any traumatic or toxic type of thought from the past enters the conscious mind and that is when you experience a post traumatic stress event.

As the memories move into your conscious mind you feel your body react in PTS symptoms. When the trauma comes up from the past you re-experience it as you are actually living in that moment.

This information floods you and that’s what creates the criteria for PTSD revealing itself in 4 categories:

• The symptoms of intrusions of re-experiencing
• The symptoms of  avoidance
• The symptoms from arousal and reactivity
• Cognition and mood symptoms

These symptoms can make you feel alienated and detached from your friends and your family and the world can become your trigger.

Your unconscious perceives triggers that cause hyper activation and a fight or flight response that was very essential in combat but now that you are home it’s an oppressive burden that can torment you.

When you perceive symptoms as a natural response to self protect it helps you realize that you are not defective. If you label yourself as permanently broken it encourages avoidance, and giving up – instead of taking actions steps with an expectation of hope for your future. God promises to “…give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11).

Matthew 19:26 says “Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’”

I have seen many people damaged by traumatic experiences that received amazing healing as they pursued God and applied the Truth of His Word. The Bible tells you the power of a renewed mind in many scriptures.

^“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled” (2 Corinthians 10:4-6).

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:2

God is the designer of human brain and He teaches you through His Word to take thoughts captive, transform and renew your mind, and tear down every stronghold of thought in the unconscious programs. The scripture tells you at the end of the Psalms to Selah (pause and consider), and in Proverbs to consider your ways (think and guide your behaviors). God teaches you that healing comes by having a mind steadfast on Him.

God does not ask you to do what is impossible because “with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26).

In Part 3 of this series I am going to show you how God’s Truth interacts with science and truly produces healing in our brain, thoughts, emotions, and life.

For am more fulfilling life visit drmichele.org/services/christian-counseling/